Mar 29 Tues - New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo

Mar 29 Tues Day 71 - sunny & hot, with some wind

Today it’s off to the New Mexico Museum of Space History. There is also an IMAX theatre on site. The museum is 4 storeys and has split levels. We got there at 11:00 and booked an IMAX show at 1:00 called Sea Monsters which showed anthropologists digging fossils and then told the story behind the fossil using “photo-realistic computer-generated animation.” The “sea monsters” shown appeared to be predecessors of our modern dolphins, sharks, & barracudas, plus three kinds of aquatic dinosaurs, now extinct. It was good, I could swear that they had used a real ocean with the prehistoric creatures superimposed, and even they looked real too. After the movie, we drove to the nearby hospital as it was the nearest café place, food was good and it was cheap. Then back to the museum. It has a lot of very interesting exhibits. I finished a bit before closing at 5 pm but Sheila still has more to see, perhaps because she spent quite a bit of time listening to a male astronaut describe the types of jobs they do in space on ‘live link’ Nasa TV & a female astronaut describe the types of medical tests they are doing on the “lab rats” ie astronauts living in the space station to see the effects of space travel & habitation on the human body. A major concern is the loss of bone density & onset of osteoporosis while in a weightless environment, making astronauts very prone to osteoporosis related injuries when they return. One other really neat thing was simulator for landing the shuttle. I tried it several times and finally got her in without crashing but to do that I had to choose the simplest, “Novice” option where you only control pitch, (up & down), and not roll, (side to side & twisting, - I failed miserably trying to control everything). Sheila never did manage to make a safe landing—even on “Novice!” We then looked at some outside missile displays and headed towards home. Both of us were exhausted! Sheila wanted to stop at a “Frozen Custard” place, kind of like an ice cream place but with lots of eggs added to make it a custard.. It was good. Tasted like a very rich, creamy ice cream. Finally we are home for a quiet eve of TV & computer. We are going to stay an extra night here as I want to see the IMAX movie on the Hubble telescope, and Sheila hasn’t finished in the museum, (ticket is good for next day entry).